Cagewriter

Ronda Rousey is quickly becoming one of the most iconic athletes in sports. On a night when many of the biggest superstars from sports and entertainment, including NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, NFL star Aaron Rodgers, and actors Sylvester Stallone and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson were tweeting to her to wish her luck, she rose to the occasion yet again.

She needed only 34 seconds this time to retain her women's bantamweight title over Bethe Correia, but this wasn't the same old Rousey.

Her striking, which some said was her weakness, led her to the one-sided victory in the main event of UFC 190 at HSBC Arena Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rousey's striking overwhelmed Correia, whose striking had led her to a 9-0 mark entering the bout. But Rousey ripped Correia with clean, hard shots and finished it with a right to the temple. Correia fell on her face as referee John McCarthy quickly stopped it.

It was four seconds longer than the combined time of her two previous wins -- 16 seconds over Alexis Davis at UFC 175 and 14 seconds over Cat Zingano at UFC 184 -- but in the manner of finish, it was probably her most impressive.

Nogueira, 39, is one of the most beloved fighters to ever compete in the sport of mixed martial arts. He is a former PRIDE FC and UFC heavyweight champion, and a true pioneer. Unfortunately, after Saturday’s unanimous decision loss at the hands of “Skyscraper,” Nogueira finds himself 1-4 in his last five fights, and the end could be closing in on the Brazilian legend.

Round 1 opened with Nogueira quickly acquiring a clinch on Struve. This is obviously where the jiu-jitsu black-belt wanted to be, but it’s also where Struve had spent the majority of his time preparing.

Struve, 27, would quickly break from the clinch and deliver stiff jabs and low kicks to the legs of the aging Brazilian. And this formula would continue into the later rounds.

Over his lengthy career in professional wrestling, Piper trained under Rousey’s mentor, “Judo” Gene Lebell, with regularity. Years later, Rousey came along and trained with the martial arts legend as well.

When Rousey eventually made the jump to professional MMA after earning a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rousey asked Piper if she could use his namesake “Rowdy” as her own.

With news emerging last week that the once-great Fedor Emelianenko is mulling a career comeback, Arlovski – a man who has tasted defeat at the hands of the Russian once before – is making it clear that he wants first dibs should the opportunity present itself.

Although many eyes will be on Ronda Rousey’s grudge match with Bethe Correia at UFC 190, the general consensus is that it will be a squash match of epic proportions when the two meet in Rio de Janiero – a match that will leave a lot to be desired from a competitive standpoint. But if you are looking for a spirited matchup that blends high-level grappling and a fair share of vitriol, then look no further than World Series of Fighting 22’s main event between current welterweight champion Rousimar Palhares (17-6) and former Strikeforce, Shooto and Elite XC champion Jake Shields (31-7-1).

It’s a main event that pits two former UFC fighters against each other for a world title in an intriguing battle of expert grapplers who have bad blood between them stemming from how they carry themselves in the cage. And for a company like WSOF that looks to continue carving out a space in the world of MMA, having two former top contenders from the UFC headlining your card with a real feud will certainly enhance visibility.

Wren has written a book on his experience with the Pygmies, "Fight for the Forgotten: How a Mixed Martial Artist Stopped Fighting for Himself and Started Fighting for Others." The book, co-authored by veteran MMA journalist Loretta Hunt, will be released on Sept. 15.

He will be fighting for the first time since July 17, 2010, when he submitted Josh Robertson in Biloxi, Miss.

At 28, Rousey is one of the most feared and respected champions in all of combat sports. One fighter who recognizes Rousey’s skill – and is impressed by her physique – is UFC interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor.

The World Series of Fighting on Wednesday will name 50-year-old digital media executive Carlos Silva as its new chief executive officer.

Silva has an extensive background in digital media and sports television and said he hopes to use all available platforms to make the World Series a bigger player in the MMA space.

It already has a television deal with NBC and NBC Sports Network, but is generally regarded as the No. 3 promotion in the U.S. behind the UFC and Bellator.

Silva isn't necessarily looking to take down either of the two MMA giants, though matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz insists he's going to seek out the best talent on the market. Abdel-Aziz told Yahoo Sports he plans to make a competitive offer to free agent heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, who recently announced his intention to come out of retirement.

Silva's goal is to overhaul the World Series' website that will not only have comprehensive information about it, its fighters and events, but also about all of MMA.

Live sports events are the lifeblood of TV networks, Silva said, and the WSOF wants to support that with a rich website that will become a destination for fans.

Chicago -- When Renan Barao lost his title to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 173 in the summer of 2014, many thought that it was a fluke.

After all, Dillashaw was a relative unknown coming out of the Ultimate Fighter feeder system and Barao hadn’t lost in 33 fights over the span of a decade.

On Saturday, Dillashaw shut out any talk of ‘luck’ and picked the Brazilian apart once again, to further cement his place atop the UFC’s 135-pound division.

“I came out more aggressive this time,” Dillashaw said post-fight. “I train harder than him, in my mind.”

Dillashaw admitted being “really pumped” by his performance and that’s for good reason.

After having the rematch with Barao cancelled on two different occasions (Aug. 2014, April 2015) Dillashaw finally got to show everyone in the world what he already knew: he could beat Renan Barao again. And this time was perhaps even more impressive than the first.

Dillashaw came out with a stiff jab and established an authoritative pace from the outset. He battled some early leg kicks from the Brazilian – a signature of Barao’s – and never lost focus.